Legends Podcast

American Psycho has been polarizing audiences since it premiered at the Sundance. Set in the late ‘80s, released in the year 2000, and now seen as a cult classic, the horror-comedy put Christian Bale on the map. Controversy over the film’s violence and descent into madness mirrors the concern over the recent release of Joker, which explores similar themes. And now, in the wilds of Wall Street, three podcasters whip out and compare their business cards… this is Legends of Halloween!

One of 1999’s breakout success stories was a found-footage horror movie, a student documentary, a Sundance darling, an elaborate hoax, a sleeper hit, one of the most successful independent films of all time, and a viral marketing experiment, made for just 60k, and earning 248Mil. The Blair Witch Project launched a whole genre of horror, from Paranormal Activity to Cloverfield and Chronicle. And now, in the woods of rural Maryland, three podcasters welcome in the season of evil… this is Legends of Hallow

Quentin Tarantino’s films seem to excite and divide audiences with equal fervor. His 2009 World War II masterpiece, Inglourious Basterds, was met with approval, but not universal acclaim. The film’s breakout star, Christoph Waltz, won an Academy Award for his roll. Dealing as it does with the theme of fighting fascism by any means necessary, Tarantino’s sixth film feels more timely now than it did ten years ago. Join Beef and Lobster as they go back to once upon a time… in Nazi-occupied France.

This week, we’re checking ourselves in for some therapy with Analyze This. Harold Ramis paired Robert DeNiro and Billy Crystal for a gangland comedy that parodied films like The Godfather and A Bronx Tale and was co-written by esteemed playwright Kennth Lonergan. An emotionally distraught mob boss and a psychiatrist who get caught up in What About Bob?-style shenanigans. But is Analyze This all that? Or does this film still have issues it needs to work through?

Based on an idea of an Agatha Christie-style whodunit set at an English manor house that Altman developed with Bob Balaban, Gosford Park’s script was written by Julian Fellowes, who won an Academy Award for Best Screenplay. Gosford Park, centered on both the aristocrats and the servants at a country estate. Now, as Downton Abbey moves to the big screen this fall, Legends Podcast goes on a hunting weekend to the English countryside to see what all the fuss is about.

This week Legends Podcast goes back to school with Election, starring Matthew Broderick and Reese Witherspoon. Directed by Alexander Payne and produced by MTV Films, Election is a biting satire of high school politics that also presages the recount drama of the 2000 Election. Joining us this week as substitute teacher is Ian, author of the film blog Primal Scenes, which is a good thing because we’re still not clear on the difference between ethics and morals. Anyone? Anyone?

This week we’re talking about Ocean’s 8, last summer’s hit heist movie- a female-led spin-off of the Stephen Soderbergh franchise. Following Debbie Ocean - played by Sandra Bullock - and her crew - an all-star cast, of course - the film swaps casino halls for gala balls. At the summer box office, Oceans 8 scored big, with nearly $300 million worldwide against a $70 million budget. But do these queens of the screen successfully steal the crown jewels, or is this museum caper a few gems short of a full

This week we’re talking about Three Kings, also one of our Legends of ‘99, starring George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, Ice Cube, and Spike Jonze as a group of soldiers who attempt to steal Saddam Hussien’s gold in the final days of Operation Desert Storm, but end up finding something else worth fighting for. Directed by David O. Russell, this boldly anti-war release from Warner Brothers also presaged the ideological grounds of the second Iraq War four years later. But is it worthy of a Legends of '99?

This week we’re talking about The Thomas Crown Affair, also one of our Legends of ‘99, a remake of the 1968 Steve McQueen-Faye Dunaway caper. Action director John McTeirnan pairs Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo in the lead roles, for a sexy update to the classic cat-and-mouse game between a wealthy art thief and a determined insurance investigator. The film employs - and also subverts - several heist movie tropes, but is the end result a new masterpiece or a cheap forgery of the original?

This week we’re talking about Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, also one of our Legends of ‘99, the movie that launched the acting careers of Jason Statham and Vinnie Jones, began the directing careers of Guy Ritchie and Matthew Vaughn, spawned a short-lived TV series, and, along with The Limey, is the second Legend of ‘99 to heavily employ Cockney rhyming slang. Join us as we have a butcher’s at this farcical tale of four friends, two guns, and a whole lot of mistaken identity. This is Aug-Heist

Twenty-five years ago, Hollywood churned out another remake of “The Most Dangerous Game,” the classic tale of man-meets-man, man-hunts-man, hunter-becomes-the-hunted… you know, that old chestnut. But is this ‘90s throwback Surviving the Game worth tracking down, or should it be left on the VHS shelf next to those jars of heads?

It’s Comic Con weekend and our spidey-senses are tingling with news and trailers from San Diego! First we tackling the third second Spider-Man movie, Spider-Man: Far From Home! Our friendly neighborhood wall-crawler is on a Euro-trip, with a Mysterio-us new player on the scene. But does this movie provide a satisfying denouement to Phase Three as we bid arriverderci to the Infinity Saga? Or is it bullocks? And which trailers from Comic Con make our peters tingle? Spoilers: it’s all of them!

A handful of years ago Netflix jacked their prices and started making TV shows and movies. It didn't take us long to realize that they are much better at making TV shows. Yet for some reason we keep going back to the well of Netflix movies. Most likely it's because they are free. Sometimes they’re good, sometimes they're bad , mostly they’re just free. What will “I am mother” hold? Listen in and find out!

Thirty years ago, Batman swept into movie theaters, ushering in the modern era of comic book movie-making. Directed by Tim Burton, starring Jack Nicholson as the Joker, Kim Basinger as Vicki Vale, and Michael Keaton as the man who launched fifty thousand letters protesting his casting as Bruce Wayne. Batman became the biggest movie of the year and one of the biggest movie franchises of the ‘90s, does this version still light up our Batsignal? Or is the joke on us?

In honor of the release of Spider-Man: Far From Home, we’re opening the Legends Vault and serving up a retro episode from our storied past. Sit back and enjoy “Spider-Man 2002” with Beef, Sean O’Hara, the Operator and John D. in Legends Podcast #101 from June of 2012. We’ll return to our regularly scheduled programming next week with Batman 1989! Enjoy the parade, and bring me pictures of Spider-Man!